they had no choice but to find the one woman who would complete their soul-bring light to their darkness. Without a woman, they had nothing but an endless, barren existence.

That's not so, Raven objected. Many have found their lifemates among my people.

A handful, Raven. Why cant I find the answer when I have such great minds working on the problem? We need women and children or our kind will cease to exist.

After the assassination attempt on his life, more than anything else, Mikhail feared their enemies would realize just how fragile the Carpathian race had become. With so many against them, it would only take one to realize where the true vulnerability of the Carpathian race lay-the absence of women and children. So far all the strikes had been directed against the men, but sooner or later their enemies would realize that to kill the species, they had only to kill the women and children.

The thought of Raven, his beloved lifemate, or his precious daughter, Savannah, as a target was almost more than he could bear-but it was inevitable. The enemy had joined together with the dark mage and had found a way to hide their presence, making them doubly dangerous. No longer could the Carpathians rely on their ability to read minds and sense a threat. They must be more vigilant than ever. Even now Mikhail scanned the forest below them warily, unable to relax completely.

Mikhail. You have closed your mind to mine.

He forced his thoughts back to their conversation. It was bad enough that he could not console his lifemate over losing a child, let alone stay on track with such an important topic. You have lived with us only fifty years and already you have suffered the loss of a child. Can you imagine the great sorrow in a hundred years-two hundred? Our women cannot suffer these losses without severe repercussions.